Mediterranean Marine Science

Vol. 19, 2018

Exploitation status and stock assessment of the

smooth clam Callista chione (Linnaeus, 1758) in the
northern Alboran Sea (GSA01-W Mediterranean Sea)

BARO JORGE INSTITUTO ESPAÑOL DE

OCEANOGRAFÍA.
CENTRO
OCEANOGRÁFICO DE
MÁLAGA
GARCIA TERESA INSTITUTO ESPAÑOL DE
OCEANOGRAFÍA.
CENTRO
OCEANOGRÁFICO DE
MÁLAGA
URRA JAVIER INSTITUTO ESPAÑOL DE
OCEANOGRAFÍA.
CENTRO
OCEANOGRÁFICO DE
MÁLAGA
LOZANO MATIAS
RUEDA JOSE LUIS INSTITUTO ESPAÑOL DE
OCEANOGRAFÍA.
CENTRO
OCEANOGRÁFICO DE
MÁLAGA
https://doi.org/10.12681/mms.14193

Copyright © 2017 Mediterranean Marine Science

To cite this article:

BARO, J., GARCIA, T., URRA, J., LOZANO, M., & RUEDA, J. (2018). Exploitation status and stock assessment of the
smooth clam Callista chione (Linnaeus, 1758) in the northern Alboran Sea (GSA01-W Mediterranean Sea).
Mediterranean Marine Science, 19(1), 1-10. doi:https://doi.org/10.12681/mms.14193

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 Research Article
Mediterranean Marine Science
Indexed in WoS (Web of Science, ISI Thomson) and SCOPUS
The journal is available online at http://www.medit-mar-sc.net
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12681/mms.14193

Exploitation status and stock assessment of the smooth clam Callista chione
(Linnaeus, 1758) in the northern Alboran Sea (GSA01-W Mediterranean Sea)

JORGE BARO, TERESA GARCÍA, JAVIER URRA, MATÍAS LOZANO

and JOSÉ LUIS RUEDA

Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO). Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga.

Puerto Pesquero s/n. 29640 Fuengirola, Málaga, Spain
Corresponding author: jorgebaro@ieo.es
Handling Editor: Marco Oliverio

Received: 13 July 2017; Accepted: 4 October 2017; Published on line: 13 March 2018

Abstract
The smooth clam, Callista chione (Linnaeus, 1758), is a venerid bivalve widely appreciated in southern Spain where it represents
the top commercial bivalve species in terms of landings and economic value. In this area, a total of 223 artisanal boats (68% of
the artisanal fleet) are involved in shellfishing targeting bivalve molluscs, including the smooth clam. The artisanal mechanised
dredging that targets C. chione in the northern Alboran Sea is described and the current exploitation status of its populations is
analysed. A surplus-production model was run using ASPIC and used to assess the temporal variation in the levels of fishing for
this bivalve throughout the study period (2002-2015), as well as to suggest conservation reference points that could guarantee the
sustainable exploitation of this resource. During the study period, the maximum C. chione catch was registered in 2003 (306 t) and
the minimum in 2006 (93 t). The ASPIC model for C. chione stock suggests that a Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) of 216 t
could be produced from a total stock biomass of 983 t (Bmsy) at a fishing mortality rate of total biomass of 0.22 (Fmsy), with B/
Bmsy and F/Fmsy values of 1.34 and 0.82, respectively, indicating that the stock is approaching good status.

Keywords: Artisanal fishing mechanised dredges, Mediterranean Sea, Callista chione, stock status.

Introduction The artisanal fleet is the largest operating in the Albo-

The Alboran Sea represents a transitional ecoregion
between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea,
connecting both oceanic domains through the Strait of
Gibraltar (Spalding et al., 2007). It extends from the
imaginary line between Cabo de Gata (Spain) and Cap
Fegalo (Algeria) to the Strait of Gibraltar. Primary pro-
ductivity in the Alboran basin is driven by the entrance
of Atlantic surface waters into the Mediterranean and the
development of anticyclonic gyres, stimulating upwell-
ing and high phytoplankton productivity at the local scale
(Parrilla & Kinder, 1987; Sarhan et al., 2000). The geo-
graphical location of the Alboran Sea, its complex ocean-
ographic and hydrological processes caused by its special
orographic features, and its high productivity, support a
high biodiversity in comparison to other Mediterranean
areas (García Raso et al., 2010; Templado, 2011; Sabelli
& Taviani, 2014). These factors have also led to import-
ant fishing activity utilising a wide diversity of gears and
targeting various species (Coppola, 2001). It is includ-
ed in FAO area #37 as well as Geographical Subarea #1
(GSA01) of the General Fisheries Commission for the
Mediterranean (FAO, 2009).
ran Sea (Alarcón, 2001; Robles et al., 2010), and is very
important for the economy of many local communities.
This type of fishing has a traditional character, involving
small boats that make daily trips to fishing grounds locat-
ed very close to the coast (Camiñas, 1990; Piniella et al.,
2007). At the same time, it is characterised by the use of
a high diversity of fishing gears that are alternated, both
temporally and spatially, according to the seasonal abun-
dance of resources or to the close season of target species
(Farrugio et al., 1993). Traditional small-scale fishing
methods are typified by their low environmental impact,
where the product is high quality and attains a premium
price in local markets.
Commercial fishing and the consumption of bivalves
in Mediterranean coastal areas has been a common prac-
tice since ancient times (Voultsiadou et al., 2010). In the
Alboran Sea, mechanised dredges for commercially col-
lecting molluscs were already in use by the early twenti-
eth century, although these were dragged by a hand-oper-
ated winch installed on the boat (Rodriguez Santamaría,
1923).The method was gradually replaced by the mech-
anised dredges currently used by the artisanal fleet until
it disappeared in the 1980s (Baro et al., 1992). Nowa-

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days the fleet, known locally as “marisquera” (deriving
from the Spanish word for shellfish), targets many dif-
ferent species. The most important economically are the
smooth clam Callista chione (Linnaeus, 1758), the rough
cockle Acanthocardia tuberculata (Linnaeus, 1758), the
striped venus clam Chamelea gallina (Linnaeus, 1758),
and the truncate donax Donax trunculus Linnaeus, 1758,
and these are caught for by a high number of boats and
fishermen.
Despite the importance of the Alboran Sea as a biodi-
versity hot-spot in Europe (Coll et al., 2010; García Raso
et al., 2010), and the significant artisanal fisheries in this
basin (Alarcón, 2001; Robles et al., 2010), there are only
a few studies on the application of technical measures for
the appropriate management of fisheries resources that
contribute to the implementation of the Common Fisher-
ies Policy (EC-Regulation No 1380/2013), which aims to
ensure the conservation, management and exploitation of
such resources (FAO, 2016). Indeed, the sustainable ex-
ploitation of marine resources requires the design of fish-
eries policies that guarantee their renewability without
endangering the ecosystem (Kelleher, 2005; Bellido et
al., 2011). At present, mechanised dredging in the north-
ern Alboran Sea is regulated by the Andalusian Regional
Government, and the current management plan contains
specific catch limits and fishing measures in order to
maintain the biomass level of exploited populations with-
in safe biological limits.
Several studies have focused on bivalves commercial-
ly exploited in the Alboran Sea, however, most of these
projects have dealt with very specific aspects of their
biology, such as growth and reproduction (Cano Pérez,
1981, 1983; Salas, 1987, Tirado & Salas, 1998; Tirado
et al., 2002a, b; Rodríguez de la Rúa et al., 2003). In ad-
dition, a detailed description of the characteristics and
evolution of the fleet involved in shellfish fisheries was
carried out between 1986 and 1990 as part of the project
“Local fisheries of the Spanish South Mediterranean Re-
gion between Punta Europa and Cabo de Gata”. The main
results obtained were related to the fishing gear used,
catches of target species, catches per unit of effort, size
frequency distributions of catches, size-weight relation-
ships, and mapping of natural shellfish beds (Baro et al.,
1992). Since then, the only studies dealing with fisheries
have focused on discard analysis and damage to discard-
ed species (Urra et al., 2017).
The venerid C. chione is distributed from Great Brit-
ain to Morocco, including the Canaries, Azores and Ma-
deira, as well as the Mediterranean Sea, inhabiting clean
sandy infralittoral and circalittoral bottoms (Salas, 2010).
This bivalve is commercially exploited throughout the
Mediterranean and widely appreciated in southern Spain,
being the most important commercial bivalve in the
northern Alboran Sea in terms of landings and economic
value, followed by D. trunculus and C. gallina. Several
aspects of its ecology and biology have been researched
in detail in Spain (Baro et al., 1992; Tirado et al., 2002b;
Baeta et al., 2014), France (Charles et al., 1999), Greece
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(Metaxatos, 2004; Leontarakis & Richardson, 2005;
Damianidis et al., 2010), Croatia (Peharda et al., 2010;
Ezgeta-Balic et al., 2011), and Italy (Mattei & Pellizza-
to, 1997, Canestri-Trotti et al., 2000), as well as along
the Portuguese Atlantic coast (Gaspar et al., 2001), but
very few studies have analysed aspects relating to its ex-
ploitation (Baeta et al., 2014). The aims of this work are:
(1) to describe the artisanal mechanised dredging used to
target C. chione in the northern Alboran Sea; (2) to anal-
yse the current exploitation status of its populations in
this area; and (3) to suggest conservation reference points
that could guarantee the sustainable exploitation of this
resource.
Material and Methods
Fisheries data from 11 fishing ports in the northern
Alboran Sea, located in the cities of Algeciras, La Línea
de la Concepción (henceforth La Línea), Estepona, Mar-
bella, Fuengirola, Málaga, Caleta de Vélez, Motril, Adra,
Roquetas de Mar and Almería have been considered for
this study (Fig. 1). Information regarding the number of
boats and the technical characteristics of these ports has
been obtained from the 2015 official fleet census. Fish-
eries data on C. chione from 2002-2015 was obtained
from the fisheries statistics recorded by the Andalusian
Government’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Marketing and
Transformation Service of the Regional Ministry of Agri-
culture, Fisheries and Rural Development, which collects
information on daily catches per species and boat at land-
ing sites. Moreover, a total of 33427 sale-notes reported
between March 2013 and March 2014 were analysed in
order to identify the metiers used by the fleet in the north-
ern Alboran Sea fishing grounds.
Catch per unit effort (CPUE) is considered propor-
tional to the average biomass of the resource if the effort
is appropriately standardised (Gulland, 1964; Kimura,
1981), especially in those fisheries operated by boats with
different technical characteristics or fishing gear. The use
of CPUE as an index of relative abundance stems from
the assumption of proportionality between the CPUE ob-
tained by a boat or class of boats and the average annual
resource abundance ( ). This proportionality rela-
tionship is expressed by the equation:
where Cij represents the catch per boat i in year j; fij
corresponds to the fishing effort, usually represented by
fishing time; and q is the catchability coefficient.
The fleet targeting C. chione in the northern Alboran
Sea is very homogeneous in size, gross register tonnage
(GRT), and power (HP), however, and as a previous step
to the assessment of the exploited stock of C. chione
through a surplus production model, a standardisation of
the abundance index was conducted by means of Gen-
Fig. 1: Geographical subareas of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) and map of the study area in
the northern Alboran Sea (W Mediterranean Sea), showing the locations of the fishing ports.

eralised Linear Models (GLMs, McCullagh & Nelder,
1989). Prior to this, the possible correlations between
the technical characteristics of the boats (size, GRT, HP)
were analysed using Spearman’s rank correlation coeffi-
cient, in order to avoid the existence of co-linearity be-
tween these variables.
The monthly averaged daily CPUE values per boat
targeting C. chione from 2002 to 2015 were used for the
GLMs. A preliminary analysis of the CPUE data showed
that this variable followed a log-normal distribution;
hence, the link function used for the response variable
was log with a Gaussian distribution function. CPUE
data were modelled as a function of year, month, tech-
nical characteristics of the boat (GRT, HP, length), and
boat. GLMs were performed on several models, includ-
ing one technical factor at a time and the interaction term,
with the aim of determining which factors best explained
the observed variability in CPUE. The goodness of fit of
the models was assessed by comparing their relative con-
tribution to the total deviance explained and the Akaike
Information Criterion (AIC, Akaike, 1974). All analyses
were carried out using R routines and STATISTICA soft-
ware.
A surplus production model was used to track tem-
poral variation in the levels of fishing throughout the
study period in order to assess the current stock situa-
tion. Assessments rely on the application of surplus pro-
duction models because the size and age compositions
of catches are not known. The analyses were performed
using the ASPIC 7 Suite, a set of computer programs to
fit non-equilibrium stock-production models to fisheries
data and make projections (Prager, 1994, 2015). Produc-
tion models can estimate some parameters precisely, in-
cluding several stock status indicators such as maximum
sustainable yield (MSY), as well as the relative levels of
stock biomass (B/Bmsy) and fishing mortality (F/Fmsy).
In this context, a fish stock is considered to be overfished
when its biomass (B) is below Bmsy, a situation that oc-

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curs when the fishing mortality rate (F) is above Fmsy.
In this case, the stock is unable to produce the MSY. As a
general consensus, a stock is in good status and remains
so if B > 2*Bmsy and F < Fmsy; a stock is approaching
good status if B > Bmsy and F ≤ Fmsy; and a stock is
outside safe biological/ecological limits if B < Bmsy or
F > Fmsy.
ASPIC requires starting guesses for its estimated pa-
rameters. The leading parameters are MSY (maximum
sustainable yield), Fmsy (fishing mortality rate under
which MSY can be attained), B1/K (ratio of stock bio-
mass at the beginning of the analysis to K, the unfished
biomass), and the catchability coefficient q. Starting
guess values of MSY and K were based on historical
information on the size of commercial catches and the
level of fishing pressure exerted, which were interac-
tively adjusted in new trials depending on the program
outputs. Prager (2015) suggested testing the sensitivity of Fig. 2: Number and average technical characteristics (gross
the model, thus the starting guess of the relative biomass tonnes, length, and engine power) of artisanal vessels per land-
(B1/K) was fixed at a range of values (0.5 - 0.9). This is ing port along the Alboran Sea.
common practice when fitting surplus production models
(Panhwar et al., 2012; Quetglas et al., 2013). The produc-
tion model was conditioned on catch, given that landing
data are assumed to be more precisely measured than ef-
fort. For each estimated parameter, 80% bias-corrected
confidence intervals were calculated using bootstrapping
with 1000 interactions. Estimates were used to project the
population forward in time for a period of 20 years to
evaluate changes in biomass and F.

Results

Artisanal fisheries in the northern Alboran Sea

There are currently 328 artisanal boats registered in

the main landing ports of the northern Alboran Sea, with
La Línea, Estepona, Caleta de Vélez and Almería, being
the most important with regard to the number of boats,
and clustering 56% of the artisanal fleet. Average boat
length is 8.4 m, with 3.4t of GRT, and mean engine power
of 37.6 HP. The longest boats with the biggest GRT and
power are generally found in the ports of Algeciras and
Roquetas de Mar (Fig. 2).
An analysis of reported daily catches shows that the
artisanal fleet uses trapping gears (e.g., traps and clay
pots) exclusively for the common octopus (Octopus vul-
garis), bottom-set stationary gear (e.g., gillnets, trammel-
nets, longlines) for fish and cephalopods, and mechanised Fig. 3: Distribution of artisanal fisheries by fishing gear and
dredges for bivalves. From March 2013 to March 2014, landing port from March 2013 to March 2014. Values are given
49% of the fishing trips were operated using gillnets, as percentage contribution of each fishery in tonnes.
trammelnets or small bottom longlines, 29% with traps
and clay-pots, and the remaining 22% with mechanised
dredges. The importance of the different metiers used by Mechanised dredging targeting Callista chione
the fleet varies between ports (Fig. 3), with widely diver-
sified fishing activity from La Linea to Caleta de Vélez, A total of 223 artisanal boats (68% of the fleet) are in-
whereas in the eastern sector, between Motril and Al- volved in shellfish fisheries, mainly targeting bivalves us-
mería, fishing gears for fish and cephalopods are the most ing mechanised dredges. The shellfish fleet is not equally
commonly used. distributed between the studied fishing ports, with La Línea

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Fig. 4: Number of vessels by landing port targeting bivalves
with mechanised dredges, in the northern Alboran Sea.
Fig. 5: Evolution of catches and CPUE for Callista chione in
the northern Alboran Sea between 2001 and 2015.
being the port with the largest number of boats involved in
these fisheries (52 boats), followed by Estepona (38), Cale-
ta de Vélez and Fuengirola (37 each) (Fig. 4). Maximum
annual catches of C. chione were made in 2003 (306 t) and
minimum catches in 2006 (93 t). There was a stable peri-
od from 2008 onwards with ca. 200 t·y-1, which dipped in
2012 to150 t (Fig. 5). The evolution of the CPUE shows a
negative trend until 2009 when it seemed to stabilise until
2012, after which it progressively increased up to 2015
when it reached ca. 100 k·day-1.
The GLM analysis showed that the technical charac-
teristics of boats and the month was of very low impor-
tance in the model, explaining between only 0.003% and
0.02% of the deviance. Moreover, month and HP were
not significant and therefore were not considered in the
interaction models. Boat, a qualitative variable which ex-
plained more than 33% of the deviance, was the variable
with the highest level of importance. The inclusion of an
interaction term slightly improved the percentage of de-
viance explained, identifying the Boat+Year model with
the lowest AIC statistic and a very good p-value the best
model (Table 1).
The comparison of observed and predicted CPUE
(using ASPIC) is a good diagnostic check of the model
goodness-of-fit (Nelson, 1999). In this context, the model
predicted CPUE very well (Fig. 6), with the best fit ob-
served with an initial biomass value of B1/K = 0.9 (R2 =
0.8). On the other hand, estimates of biomass were higher
than the expected biomass at the B/Bmsy ratio, indicating
that the stock had not been overfished. In relation to the
stock time trajectory, estimates of F were below Fmsy
indicating that the real fishing effort was lower than the
fishing effort that should be exerted to attain the maxi-
mum sustainable yield (F/Fmsy < 1), once again suggest-

Table 1. Goodness of fit statistics for the GLM fitted to Callista chione CPUE from 2002 to 2015. AIC: Akaike Information Cri-
terion; d.f.: degree of freedom; GRT: gross register tonnage; HP: power.

Percentage
Residual of deviance Wald
Model. d.f. deviance explained AIC Statistic p-value
Vessel+Year 4551 6532423 34.41 48369.2 38.77 <0.0001
Vessel+Year+Length 4550 6531897 34.41 48370.8 0.45 0.5
Vessel+GRT 4551 6581572 33.92 48404.9 3.01 0.083
Vessel 4552 6585436 33.88 48405.7 1800.4 <0.0001
Vessel+Length 4551 6585427 33.88 48407.7 0.008 0.93
Year 4763 9877668 0.82 49915.5 39.9 <0.0001
Length 4763 9935634 0.24 49943.4 11.4 <0.0001
GRT 4763 9950474 0.09 49950.5 4.21 0.04
HP 4763 9958244 0.01 49954.2 0.54 0.46
Month 4763 9959059 0.00 49954.6 0.14 0.71
NULL 4764 9959351 377974 <0.0001

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Fig. 6: Trajectories from 2002 to 2015 of observed CPUE and- Fig. 7: Trajectories from 2002 to 2015 of relative fishing mor-
CPUE estimated using the ASPIC model. tality and biomass for Callista chione in the northern Alboran
Sea.

ing that the stock has not been subjected to overfishing
(Fig. 7).
The current situation is summarised in Table 2, which
contains the main stock status indicators. The ASPIC
run for the C. chione stock suggested that a MSY of 216
t could be produced from a total stock biomass of 983
t (Bmsy) at a fishing mortality rate of total biomass of
0.22 (Fmsy), and B/Bmsy and F/Fmsy values of 1.34 and
0.82, respectively, indicating that the stock is approach-
ing good status.
The projection carried out in the scenario where cur-
rent exploitation levels are maintained over the next 20
years indicates that relative biomass decreases slightly
throughout the period but not enough for it to drop below
the level of B/Bmsy = 1. Relative fishing mortality in-
creases slightly over the period, although in no year of the
prediction do values rise above F/Fmsy = 1. In addition,
this parameter shows more stability than biomass over
time (Fig. 8).
Discussion
The smooth clam C. chione is a very much appreciat-
ed resource in the local markets of the northern Alboran
Sea, and it is the most important bivalve species in terms
of its catch-price ratio. The mechanised dredging fleet
operating in the area has been exploiting this species for
decades and the stock abundance has undergone strong
oscillations. Although these oscillations may be associat-
ed with various processes affecting natural bivalve popu-
lations, such as disturbance, habitat destruction, diseases,
predation, food availability, or pollution (Rothschild et
al., 1994; Charles et al., 1999; Canestri-Trotti et al., 2000;
Walton et al., 2002; Quijón et al., 2007; Romanelli et al.,
2009; Baeta et al., 2014), overfishing is probably one of
the main factors contributing to the decline in abundance
of commercial bivalves in natural beds (Rothschild et al.,
1994; Dang et al., 2010; Baeta et al., 2014). Therefore,
the assessment of marine resources should necessarily be
based on continuous monitoring programmes, in order to

Table 2. Main stock status indicators for Callista chione in the northern Alboran Sea. MSY: maximum sustainable yield; Fmsy:
fishing mortality at MSY; Bmsy: biomass giving MSY; Y(Fmsy): yield at Fmsy; fmsy: effort (in fishing days) that should lead to
MSY; B/Bmsy: relative level of stock biomass; F/Fmsy: relative level of fishing mortality. CL: Confidence limits.

Parameter Estimate 80% lower CL 80% upper CL

MSY 2.16E+05 2.00E+05 2.91E+05
Fmsy 2.20E-01 1.26E-01 3.06E-01
Bmsy 9.83E+05 7.27E+05 1.94E+06
Y(Fmsy) 2.34E+05 2.32E+05 2.38E+05
fmsy 3.40E+03 3.02E+03 4.65E+03
B/Bmsy 1.34E+00 1.23E+00 1.54E+00
F/Fmsy 8.21E-01 5.75E-01 9.41E-01

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Fig. 8: Time trajectories from 2002 to 2015 and forecasting for
the next 20 years (2016-2036) of the relative fishing mortality
rate (F/Fmsy) and relative population biomass (B/Bmsy) esti-
mated using a non-equilibrium surplus production model, set-
ting maximum sustainable yield (MSY) at a level correspond-
ing to the value of the latest year. The dotted lines represent the
upper and lower 80% confidence limits.
guarantee bivalve preservation and keep exploitation lev-
els within safe limits. In this context, management plans
have recently been established that include, among other
measures, biological benchmarks to achieve the sustain-
able exploitation of resources (Andalucía, 2017).
The main technical characteristics of the artisanal
fleet operating mechanised dredges in the northern Al-
boran Sea is quite homogeneous, i.e., GTR, HP, length,
with strong correlation between these parameters: Spear-
man’s correlation coefficient GTR - HP = 0.60; GTR -
length= 0.72; HP - length = 0.61; p < 0.05. In contrast,
CPUE shows a weak correlation with GRT, HP, and
length (Spearman’s correlation coefficient< 0.05), and as
a consequence these three technical characteristics were
of very low importance in the GLM model. Finally, the
boat variable was relevant in the model, as it explained
more than 33% of the deviance. There are, therefore, fac-
tors intrinsic to the vessel variable, but not strictly related
to the analysed technical characteristics that affect CPUE
values and which should be considered in future model-
ling programmes on this type of fisheries (Sánchez et al.,
2004).
According to the analysed data, there is no clear sea-
sonality in the fishing activity. Moreover, the month vari-
able was neither very explanatory nor significant in the
GLM model. The seasonality of catches, in this case of
C. chione, can be directly influenced by various factors
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including the use of other fishing gears targeting non-bi-
valve species, discontinuity of fishing activity due to
weather conditions, close seasons for reproductive pur-
poses or red tide events, or indirectly by market fluctu-
ations, among other issues. In fact, Sardá et al. (2000)
reported a marked seasonality in C. chione, Donax varie-
gatus, D. trunculus, and Acanthocardia aculeata catches
in the Bay of Blanes (NW Mediterranean Sea), with high-
er monthly catches recorded during spring and summer
related to the more favourable sea conditions required by
the fleet. On the other hand, these authors also observed
that total catch for commercial species was drastically
affected by anthropogenic disturbances that had acute ef-
fects on the dynamics of soft-bottom assemblages, with
marked declines in A. aculeata, C. chione, and C. gallina
after dredging for beach nourishment. Despite these spo-
radic observations, there is an overall lack of information
on the seasonality of fisheries operating along both the
Mediterranean (Ezgeta-Balic et al., 2011; Baeta et al.,
2014) and Atlantic European coasts (Gaspar et al., 2001;
Vasconcelos et al., 2011). Therefore, further research on
the seasonality of commercial stocks considering anthro-
pogenic activities, biological issues such as periods of
toxic algal blooms resulting in high toxin levels in com-
mercial molluscs (very frequent in certain seasons), or
different climate change scenarios would be desirable in
order to model and predict temporal trends in important
resources like shellfish.
The ASPIC results showed that the smooth clam re-
source in the northern Alboran Sea is currently in good
condition, indicating that the stock has not been over-
fished, and has not experienced overfishing as well un-
like in other Mediterranean areas (Baeta et al., 2014).
Moreover, the modelled projection suggests that the stock
will remain in good condition in the future if the catch is
maintained at the same level as that recorded for previous
years. It therefore seems feasible to maintain the current
catch level without jeopardising the resource biomass or
increasing the F values. The non-equilibrium surplus-pro-
duction model using ASPIC has shown to be a useful tool
for assessing different fisheries and stocks (Link et al.,
2011), having been widely used for both demersal spe-
cies (Nishimura & Yatsu, 2008; Abella et al., 2010; Pan-
hwar et al., 2012; Quetglas et al., 2013), large pelagic fish
(Goodyear & Prager, 2001; de Bruyn et al., 2012), and
small pelagic fish (Baset et al., 2017), although only in
some cases for commercial invertebrates (Hunter et al.,
2007; Afzaal et al., 2016; Moshin et al., 2017). In the case
presented here, surplus production models have proven
useful for monitoring these exploited populations.
An important parameter to take into account in fish-
eries management is size/age. This study did not include
continuous sampling of the size composition of the har-
vested biomass, although some samples were obtained
between May 2013 and June 2015 (unpublished data). In
those samples, the size of landings ranged from 39 mm to
95 mm (anteroposterior axis). In this region, C. chione is
estimated to reach maturity at 38 mm (Tirado pers. com.),
7

consequently there are no immature individuals in land-
ings. Furthermore, the mean size of harvested smooth
clams was 65.7 mm, considerably above the minimum
conservation reference size of 60 mm. These data rein-
forces the good status of the stock, since catches are not
based on smaller individuals. Nevertheless, it is neces-
sary to periodically update the assessments and adopt ap-
propriate management measures to avoid a decline in the
smooth clam fishery in the Alboran Sea leading to a col-
lapse of the fishery, as observed in other bivalve fisheries
(Rothschild et al., 1994; Romanelli et al., 2009; Dang et
al., 2010; Baeta et al., 2014).
Commercial bivalve populations have been assessed
for management purposes using dynamic population
methods (Rothschild et al., 1994; Munch-Petersen &
Kristensen, 2001) and surveys at sea (Beukers-Stewart et
al., 2003; Sánchez et al., 2014). To our knowledge, to
date a surplus-production model using ASPIC has never
been run for these purposes, this study being the first to
test it. To this end, ASPIC has shown to be an effective
tool for assessing the C. chione dredging fishery in the
northern Alboran Sea, in this case using catch and effort
data from official statistics rather than more expensive
and time-consuming methods such as those mentioned
above.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank all the fishermen who collabo-
rated with us in the collection of samples. This study was
developed under the collaboration agreement between the
Andalusian Regional Government (Junta de Andalucía,
Spain) and Spanish Oceanographic Institute (Instituto Es-
pañol de Oceanografía; IEO) (Contract 126/2012-SEN),
within the framework of the research project entitled “Es-
tudio integral en zonas de protección pesquera y maris-
quera y otras áreas marinas protegidas del litoral andaluz:
Estudio previo para la protección, ordenación y determi-
nación de reservas marisqueras en el litoral mediterráneo
de Andalucía” (REMAN-REMARAN). This project was
funded by the European Fisheries Fund.
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